Cheshire Homes: Making the world inclusive for disabled
Cheshire Home has won the hearts of the people in the city and across the world.
Bengaluru: Cubbon Park was a beehive of activity on Sunday as over 650 people, out of some 800 who had registered, participated in the 3K Run organised by the Cheshire Home in Bengaluru to celebrate the World Disability Day.
One of the oldest Charitable Institutions in the country, the Cheshire Home has won the hearts of the people in the city and across the world. Lord Leonard Cheshire, a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II who received the Victoria Cross, set up a chain of Cheshire Homes throughout the world.
Speaking about the NGO’s impact in the city, Ms Anuradha Patil, Manager, Cheshire Homes India, Bengaluru Unit, said, “Ward number 88 in Bengaluru will be a model ward which will have completely disabled-friendly infrastructure. It can be replicated by other wards and cities as well.” Mayor Padmavathi promised funds for a disabled-friendly children’s park in the area.
“The main aim of the Bengaluru unit is to provide care, treatment, support and nursing and ensure general wellbeing of women and girl children, who have permanent or severe disabilities that thwart their goals of becoming something in life," Ms Patil said. The idea behind the marathon was to create awareness on disability and challenges faced by people with disabilities. Across the world, there are 55 Cheshire Homes and the city has two such centres.
“The NGO was started in 1961 to provide residential facilities for the disabled girl child. Residents are primarily physically challenged girls and women from economically weaker sections of society. The home within the city at present accommodates around 50 residents, while the one at Whitefield for elderly women has a capacity of about 20 residents," said Ms Patil.
All the residents are given proper medical attention and treatment. The children are provided with formal education, prepared for a profession or a career and trained to be independent. For those with greater limitations, an opportunity is provided in the home for a meaningful life and economic productivity through learning of crafts and other means. Thirty-five girls are currently staying at Cheshire home and they will continue to live there till they complete their education, she said.
“We carry out corrective surgeries for which many hospitals give us big concessions. We mostly rely on individual donors to come forward and help," she said.
Another initiative, Livelihood Resource Centre, which was started in 2008, encourages residents to pursue education and go beyond basic degrees based on their abilities. This has enabled some of the Cheshire Home residents to land jobs with salaries that are on a par with able-bodied professionals. “It is a full-day training session and is open to both men and women. We work closely with the disabled and the companies that can hire them. At present, we have 30 candidates. Since 2008, we have trained more than 3,000 individuals and over 2,000 of them are currently working in different organisations," she said with pride. The old age run by the NGO has 19 elderly women now.